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AirAsia kicks-off 2013 with 1Malaysia aircraft livery

Sepang, 5 January 2013

AirAsia is the world’s best low-cost carrier for four consecutive years, and the success of this homegrown airline is no stranger to air travellers across the globe – putting Malaysia on the map at a much larger scale than before and today’s launch of the 1Malaysia aircraft livery will extend the nation’s concept of unity through diversity even further.

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak officially launched the 1Malaysia aircraft livery at a press conference held at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang, Selangor today; and was accompanied by his wife Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor as well as the senior management teams of both AirAsia Berhad and AirAsia X.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia commented, “I am very proud to be Malaysian and I am sure my extended family of AirAsia Allstars (our staff), whether they are Malaysians or not, are also proud to embrace the concept of 1Malaysia – which personifies the true identity of our country. The success of AirAsia is also attributed to Dato’ Sri Najib’s decision to open up our skies before year 2015, when the Open Skies policy will be implemented throughout the Asean region and I would like to applaud him for that move.

“Apart from that, the reduction of airport tax during Dato’ Sri Najib’s tenure as the Deputy Prime Minister was also a catalyst that propelled AirAsia to what we are today,” added Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. “And having this special 1Malaysia aircraft livery is just a small gesture for the support the government has given us, and as an airline, we look forward to further contribute and enhance the nation’s economy as year 2013 unfurls. We are passionate about what we do. We embrace all that is great about Malaysia. We not only wear our hearts on our sleeves, we proclaim our passions to the ASEAN skies through the livery of our aircraft. Be it the Jalur Gemilang livery of 10 years ago, the Visit Malaysia livery, Tourism Malaysia's "Zoom" campaign, the Lat livery of 2009 --- we dedicated a gallery in the skies to Malaysia's unique diversity and heritage.”

The Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhad, Aireen Omar also said at the launch, “The 1Malaysia aircraft livery truly represents what we are as a country – unity through diversity, which is also the strength in which AirAsia strives, and we are honoured to be the airline to bear the 1Malaysia logo, both literally and figuratively. AirAsia has taken a home-grown, Malaysian airline to the whole of Asean, with affiliates in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and even Japan – making us a truly Asian company.

The 1Malaysia livery is painted on an Airbus A320 aircraft with a capacity of 180 guests. Approximately 600 litres or 121 cans of paint were used by 20 workers to prepare this special aircraft livery over a duration of 12 days, and the aircraft will be plying routes served by AirAsia Berhad covering over 70 destinations across 20 countries, bringing the 1Malaysia brand and experience to even more communities across the globe.

AirAsia started off with 2 ailing aircraft over 11 years ago, however with the constant support of the Malaysian government, the airline now operates one of the largest and youngest fleet of Airbus A320s in the world, carrying over 180 million guests in the past 11 years.